Times Community Newspapers

Legislators mull whether to let = illegal=20 immigrants into college

By Ron Capshaw and Karen Lewis, = Capital News=20 Service
02/04/2003

RICHMOND =97 Should they be = welcomed or=20 barred?

That seems to be the question when it comes to two=20 immigration issues before the General Assembly: Whether illegal = immigrants=20 should be admitted to public colleges and universities, and what = tuition=20 rate they should be charged if they do attend.

A bill=20 sponsored by Delegate John Reid (R-Henrico) would have prohibited = the=20 admission of illegal immigrants to Virginia's public institutions = of=20 higher education. His bill was tabled last week in the House = Education=20 Committee.

Legislation sponsored by Delegate Karen Darner=20 (D-Arlington) would have granted in-state tuition rates to some=20 undocumented aliens, as long as they met certain conditions. Her = proposal=20 was tabled, too.

Darner's and Reid's bills were sent to a = task=20 force created by the governor to study the = issue.

Meanwhile,=20 another bill on the matter is moving forward. Delegate Thelma = Drake=20 (R-Norfolk) has proposed denying illegal immigrants in-state = tuition. Her=20 bill passed the House 88-10 last week and is in the Senate = Education and=20 Health Committee.

Drake said she proposed the bill at the = request=20 of Attorney General Jerry Kilgore.

"This bill is a = clarification of=20 existing state law," Drake said. "I believe, as does the attorney = general,=20 that Virginia law is already in line with federal law. This bill = makes=20 more clear what state law is."

Another factor in the = debate: Drake=20 noted that military families aren't entitled to in-state tuition = if they=20 are not domiciled in Virginia =C3=BE =C0=80mdash; so why should = illegal aliens=20 be?

But Darner said academically eligible students should = not be=20 barred from attending college even if they are here = illegally.

"We=20 are talking about children who came with their parents to America = and=20 really had no option to do otherwise," she said.

"These = kids have=20 done very well in school. They've taken all of the (Standards of = Learning)=20 tests and others that are required, and have become academically = eligible=20 for our colleges. Then bang =C3=BE =C0=80mdash; they're denied = in-state tuition=20 and threatened with nonadmission as well."

A 1982 Supreme = Court=20 decision said children here illegally cannot be denied a public = primary=20 and secondary education. But a 1996 federal law prohibits granting = in-state tuition to undocumented aliens.

Some states, = however,=20 have passed laws granting in-state tuition to illegal immigrants = based on=20 their residency. Currently, Texas and California have such laws; = similar=20 legislation failed in Congress last year.

The=20 numbers

The debate comes as Virginia's = taxpayer-supported=20 schools cope with slashed budgets and rising=20 enrollments.

Collectively, public colleges and universities = have=20 lost between 9 and 15 percent of their state funds as Virginia = wrestles=20 with a multibillion-dollar budget deficit.

The total bill = for=20 tuition and mandatory fees for an in-state student comes to $4,457 = at a=20 four-year school and $1,488 at a community = college.

Out-of-state=20 tuition rates typically range from two- to three-and-a-half times = more,=20 however, and in-state tuition can save a student up to $6,000 a=20 year.

Foreign students with a visa in the state to study = are=20 charged out-of-state tuition.

National trends fuel the = debate as=20 well.

Nationwide, the population of undocumented aliens has = increased by one million in less than four years, according to the = U.S.=20 Census Bureau and the Immigration and Naturalization = Service.

A=20 total of seven million illegal immigrants lived in the United = States as of=20 January 2000. During the 1990s, their population increased by = 350,000 a=20 year.

It is unknown how many are post-secondary students, = but the=20 Urban Institute estimates that 126,000 illegal immigrants are = enrolled in=20 U.S. colleges. The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, = which=20 oversees public colleges, does not keep figures on the number of=20 undocumented aliens enrolled.

Points of=20 view

Dan Stein, executive director of the Federation = for=20 American Immigration Reform, is a critic of admitting illegal = immigrants=20 to state schools.

"We don't think taxpayers should provide = in-state tuition" for these students, he said. He believes such = policies=20 undermine immigration law and attract people to Virginia = illegally. "It's=20 not the kind of policy a country committed to the rule of law = should=20 consider."

He said schools have a limited number of slots = and=20 illegal aliens displace students who are legal residents. "We are = having a=20 tough time providing college for all the people here legally," he=20 said.

Kent Willis, chairman of the Virginia chapter of the = American=20 Civil Liberties Union, said the proposed restrictions on = undocumented=20 immigrants stem from anger about the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist=20 attacks.

Willis called Reid's bill "xenophobic" and said it = reflects "the atmosphere of hostility toward immigrants because of = 9/11.

"The bill is using the term 'illegal immigrant' = because it=20 sounds so menacing," Willis went on. "The real problem is that = employers=20 encourage illegal immigrants to come to Virginia. They want a = cheap labor=20 force."

Willis said that any Virginia resident should be = allowed to=20 go to college and pay in-state rates.

"It is a relatively = easy=20 procedure to become a resident in Virginia. You just have to have = lived a=20 certain amount of time and pay taxes. And these 'illegals' are = residents.=20 They do all of that."

Virginia should support immigrants = going to=20 college, he said. "The better educated they are, the less chance = they will=20 be on welfare and the more productive they will be as=20 citizens."

Reid said his bill is not xenophobic.

"It = is=20 unfortunate that anyone would reference Sept. 11 in reference to = this=20 bill. I have submitted legislation dealing with this theme in the = past. I=20 sought to limit out-of-state students.

"At one school, = 43.8=20 percent of the students were out-of-state. That college is no = longer=20 in-state, in my opinion."

Reid said his current bill has an = intent=20 similar to his previous legislation.

"I believe that the = children=20 of Virginia taxpayers should get the chance to go (to college). = Resident=20 students with 4.0s aren't getting in. That is wrong."

Reid = himself=20 voted to table his bill, however, to allow time to study the issue = and=20 make sure that Virginia law conforms with federal law.

"I = did so at=20 the request of the attorney general, who wanted to see if there = are any=20 conflicts with federal law on providing education to illegal = immigrants,"=20 he said. "I know that there are for K-12 education, but I don't = believe=20 there are for college."

Gov. Mark R. Warner has not weighed = in on=20 the issue. "As of right now, the governor has no firm position on = the=20 matter," said Kevin Hall, a spokesperson for Warner.

Hall = said that=20 at a meeting of Latino groups in November, Warner was made aware = of their=20 concerns about college restrictions on undocumented=20 immigrants.

"Since then, he has directed the Secretary of = Education=20 to create a task force to study a whole range of possible = responses. He=20 hopes that solutions will be found that will be acceptable to all=20 parties," Hall said.=20

=A9Times=20 Community Newspapers 2003

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